Pages

Thursday, May 31, 2012

I told you over Twitter how I was heading off to the Kroger’s Sixth Annual Bringing Hope to the Table Cake-off benefiting the Houston Food Bank Wednesday morning. That's right, lots of Houston media members and me stormed the West U. Kroger on Buffalo Speedway at Westpark for a big competition in the name of charity. It was just like that big fight scene in Anchorman: The Legend of Ron Burgundy except KHOU's Lily Jang didn't bring a trident...this time. There were also no blows to the face for on camera reasons.

We were packed in tightly, with our game faces on and a talented Kroger pastry chef to assist (I needed the help). To my left were KHOU's Jang and Katherine Whaley...to my right were Fox 26 KRIV's Natalie Bomke and Chris Stipes. TV cameras in our faces and flashes going off couldn't distract us.

This year’s cake-decorating theme centered on family, hope and happiness so I did a Twitter theme complete with a mother and baby bird plus the #KrogerBringsHope hashtag. While my effort got props (my wife's idea actually), I couldn't pull off the decoration.

Morning news anchor Lizzet Lopez of Univision 45/Telefutura 67 took the top prize, followed by Jang/Whaley and Stipes.

Kroger tells me according to the latest Feeding America report, Texas has the second highest rate of childhood hunger in the nation – one in four children in the state do not know where their next meal will come from.

The Cake-off brings attention to Kroger’s citywide Bringing Hope to the Table fundraising campaign that takes place late May-June. During the fundraiser, select products are marked with a special campaign tag in greater Houston Kroger stores. Each time a customer purchases a marked item, a portion of the sale goes to the Houston Food Bank to help the organization provide food assistance to more than 137,000 Southeast Texas residents weekly.